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Maricopa County Attorney's Office drops case against woman accused of torturing 3 dogs

Rachel Mitchell
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell at a press conference on Jan. 24, 2023.

An animal rescue trainer is criticizing the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for declining to charge 42-year-old Brook Scalero for the torture and death of three dogs. Despite a confession and the recovery of two dead animals, the chief county prosecutor said there was not enough evidence.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced she will not be pursuing charges against Scalero, who confessed to torturing and killing three dogs. Other evidence in the case is a diary Scalero kept, where she wrote about torturing animals and children.

"The ethics standards that govern attorneys are clear," Mitchell said. "We are obligated to bring cases to court that we believe are likely to result in a conviction. There is no option to simply file the case to ‘see what a jury would decide.’"

Mitchell said there was not enough physical evidence linking Scalero to the remains of two dogs recovered. One was in a state where necropsy was not possible, while the other was not preserved during the investigation.

A Mesa Police Department spokesperson said one dog's remains that were located were "extremely decomposed" and were sent to the VCA Animal Hospital for the investigation. The remains were later deemed too decomposed to perform a necropsy.

Alexandra Zacovic is an animal trainer for Paws Fur the Cause, an animal rescue service in Mesa.

“She will continue to do this, especially now that the Maricopa County Attorney's office is basically telling her, 'Yes, you can get away with it,'" Zacovic said. "'No, we're not going to prosecute you.'"

Zacovic said she has been involved in the Scalero case for nearly a year, becoming aware of it in late May when Scalero visited Paws to adopt a dog named "Pepe." Scalero cut off contact with the rescue center after taking the dog and didn't pay for the adoption, leading Zacocic to figure out what had happened.

Zacovic later obtained Scalero's diary, which she said contained morbid imagery of how Scalero would torture dogs through starvation, strangulation and dehydration. Through the diary, someone was able to locate Pepe and report the dog's remains to animal control. In Scalero's second interview with police concerning the dogs after the remains were found, she confessed to killing three.

"The diary descriptions are hideous, and it is easy to understand why people have strong feelings about this case," Mitchell said in her statement. "However, we must deal in provable facts. If new information is developed, we stand ready to reopen the case and re-review it.”

Zacovic said the MCAO's statement brings to light a larger issue, believing that the county attorney drops cases to "preserve their record."

"They just don't put anything at all into these animal cases, and so that's why we're seeing these numbers skyrocket in rescue of the most horrific, tortuous abuse, and there's never any consequences for these people," Zacovic said.

Zacovic is planning a protest against the county attorney’s office on Feb. 11. Mitchell said she will resume the case if new information develops.

"We have two bodies, we have a confession and we have her journal, which she is claiming is creative writing," Zacovic said. "It's very frustrating."

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George Headley is an intern at KJZZ.